Abstract/Description

Notes

In Spore 46 we wrote at length on the subject of livestock for the landless. The article began with the opening remark 'Population growth, fragmentation of land holdings, poverty and increasing urbanization are resulting in ever larger numbers of individuals in many ACP countries trying to produce food without access either to any or to adequate land.'
Two Ghanaian authors seeing this need have written books on two of the livestock species referred to in the article. In Try the rabbit Stephen Adjare refers to himself as a layman who has kept rabbits since 1957 and the book is based on his experience of rabbit farming and is written for those who want to begin rabbit rearing. 'One of the main advantages of small-scale rabbit farming,' he says, 'is that it requires minimal capital investment. Young people can easily afford to start keeping rabbits with virtually no financial risk. The venture could begin as a backyard or garden enterprise, requiring very little space.' In this well-illustrated (both photographically and diagrammatically) small book, Mr Adjare takes the would-be rabbit breeder in easily assimilated stages through all the steps involved in breeding and raising rabbits; from constructing rabbit hutches, through breeds and breeding, health and nutrition to diseases and pests.
The author of Snail farming in West Africa, Mr Joseph Cobbinah, makes the point that demand for snail meat has become so great that the wild species are in serious danger of becoming extinct as a result of this demand as well as through the loss of tropical rainforest and unsound farming practices which further endanger it. Snail farming is a way of meeting this increase in demand. Mr Cobbinah points out that the growing interest in snail farming has created a pressing need for more information on the biology, genetics, nutritional requirements, aestivation and general husbandry of snails, which he seeks to address in this practical guide. But he also points out that snails (unlike the prolific rabbit) are slow-growing animals and as such do not represent a way of making money quickly but should be viewed as part of an integrated system of farm management.
Try the rabbit
by Stephen Opoku Adjare 54pp
ISBN 92 9081 1080
Snail farming in West Africa
by Joseph Cobbinah 49pp
lSBN 92 9081 1021
Both guides are published by CTA